Hey wiggy.
Have you never heard the term 'take home pay'?
I said what I mean, and I mean what I said.
Yes I have, and I'm sure you do.
I could play the same "game" with my payslip because of where I live and am taxed, but the only person I would be fooling would be myself. If the original comment had been "his take home is 20K a month, mind you he/she has yet to pay tax in Ireland/France/Upper Volta or wherever" then eyebrows wouldn't have been raised, and the non-believers wouldn't have been quite as vociferous since 20K gross is, whilst unusual, at least credible.
Ultimately I know you (and probably others) think I'm coming over like a right phiart but I'm not looking to argue for the sake of it. I do however think it's important potential joiners don't make a life changing decision because they were unknowingly comparing apples with oranges.
Right, I am now off to console myself by looking at the "take home pay" on my own payslip
whilst ignoring the tax bill that hit the door mat a few weeks back
....